Ain't nothin' but a number

My heart dropped recently when I recently heard a careers advisor speak to a room full of students. Not the act of speaking to the students - clearly careers advice in itself in an excellent and much needed practice so I am encouraged when careers professionals are deemed an integral part of student development, however, what got me down was what I took away as the lasting message.

After some perfectly adequate and relevant information delivery - the advisor said "and as you can see from the most recent unemployment statistics, there are over 1 million people out of work. It is hard to get a job."

What's the problem with that statement you ask? Valid question I suppose. After all, November ONS figures highlight that UK unemployment rose by 129,000 in the three months to September to 2.62 million, as youth unemployment rose above a million. As the BBC reported, the jobless total for 16 to 24-year-olds hit a record of 1.02 million in the quarter and female unemployment was at its highest for 23 years. The the jobless rate hit 8.3%.

While the facts speak for themselves, what made my heart sink was the fact that this information was presented as a foregone conclusion to the students in the room. The context of that statement was that it was presented in isolation. No following words of encouragement about why its therefore exceptionally important to focus on developing yourself etc. None. This approach unsettled me.

Yes these statistics are a verified reflection of the current climate - but they are not an indication of anyone's fate and should certainly not be seen by students as a reason or excuse for not achieving their own career potential.

I don't mean to suggest that getting a job is easy. It isn't. I appreciate that the job market is the toughest it has been for a generation. I know graduates who are having a hard time finding work and very qualified professionals who have been made redundant BUT this should not be the focus for any job seekers. There are jobs available in this market. You can take significant steps towards achieving your career goals. You can even start your own businesses if you have a passion you want to explore in a niche you think you can improve. Why should the overarching message from a careers expert be about how difficult things are... instead of a clear call to action for students to have faith in their abilities, work hard and realise that what is important these days is to embrace and highlight your assets. What can YOU bring to an organisation. Why should you be hired?

Far from being an empty rant (can you tell how disheartened I was about the approach described above?!) - I thought it useful to fill in the gaps a bit with some more subtance, in the form of some of the thoughts I would leave with a room of 16 year olds:

Top 5 Career Development Tips for Students

• Remember that you are not a statistic - Since your pre-teen years, you have been aware of global economic challenges. It's a tough climate out there but this is NOT an excuse for you not to really work hard and endeavour to create opportunities for yourself.
  
• Make the most of your time in school / college / university- Educational institutions are a fantastic opportunity for discovering your areas of interest and gaining some experience before you enter the 'real' world. Start a student blog, get involved in team sports, write for the student paper, take up a mentoring role for younger students,learn a marshall art, join the students council / get involved with youth politics, participate in a play - and more. If at university, get involved with organising a society. These experiences will all add to your transferable skills and increase your confidence
  
• Gain some work experience - Yes, your primary aim at school / college / university is to get a good education, so don't lose that focus. However, in this competitive climate, it is especially important to build your experience. Find yourself a part time job or a volunteering opportunity. Businesses are increasingly realising the benefits of youth input - so either look into organisations involved in your areas of interest (e.g childrens charities or environmental organisations) or seek a source that can link you to available volunteering. In Hackney for example, students can go to Young Hackney Volunteers to find out more about what opportunities they have available for proactive students
  
• Start with the end in mind - While all interviews are different depending on what role you are going for, there are standard interview questions including "What is your greatest strength", "Are you a team player", "What is your experience in this field", "Explain how you would be an asset to this organisation", "Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a challenge and overcame it... and how", "Tell me about your ability to work under pressure" etc. Search for interview questions and review them... even a year before you may be considering applying for a job / a role. By familiarising yourself with what employers tend to ask, you can start building your experience and appreciating your current experiences - with these questions / your answers in mind. If you find there are areas you have no answer for... you know where you need to focus your energies!
  
• Network - Even in this climate, job websites are loaded with opportunities that you can compete for. You'll be placing yourself in an even better position however if you get into the habit of networking. Often, employers may have people in mind for opportunities - and if you have gone out of your way to meet people and have made a good impression, sometimes, you will find that opportunities come to you. In my case, after I was offered an opportunity to compete for a contract position after my Masters degree - and this was due to the fact that I had impressed, and made some good contacts the summer before when I did an internship. Likewise, I know a current student who networked effectively at a careers event, and was offered an incredible international opportunity which will greatly increase her experience and look incredible on her CV.

 Remember - while the unemployment statistics have the potential to be discouraging and if reports are to be believed, won't be getting better any time soon - YOU have the power to affect your own destiny. Work hard. Stay positive. Remember that you have a lot to offer - and should always be building on what you already have. Young people like SBTV's Jamal Edwards and more are fantastic inspirations who don't let statistics define them... and you can do it too!

No... thank YOU!

It's nuts isn't it. We all spend so much time working so hard in our respective careers and businesses... and lives in general... and it's so rare that we get off the life treadmill and take a breath. Not ideal, but often how it works in our busy lives!

One of the things that I always tell clients is that they need to take some time to celebrate their achievements. Not just the big end goals like achieving their job promotion, finding a new role or gaining their degree (though these are all FANTASTIC achievements)... but I am a huge advocate of celebrating the small achievements that lead us to those larger ones. Sticking to a study timetable... diligently researching job opportunities and doing 2 good applications a week... creating a newsletter for your clients - these are all smaller parts of wider goals and I encourage you to jumo off the treadmill - pause - and congratulate yourself on those achievements too.

To that end, I too took a step back and compiled some of the lovely feedback I've recently received from clients and created a little video which reflect the great experiences they have had with coaching.  This video is just a snapshot of some of these testimonials and my way of taking a moment to jump off the 'to do' cycle... and realise that the hard work is paying off.

Have a look at the new Limitless Coaching testimonials video

Thank you for being part of the journey and for continuing to spread the word and for more information about coaching with me, visit the website.

Post-Wedding Motivation

Limitless Coaching is happy to confirm the introduction of post-wedding motivation coaching for newlyweds.

Following my own royal wedding (my husband and I got married on the same day as William and Kate… in Windsor of all places!) I am absolutely loving life as a newlywed…

Post our fantastic, regal wedding celebrations however; I did have a temporary dip in my usual levels of enthusiasm (for everything apart from my husband!) – and it was recognising this unusual slump in my normally enthusiastic, motivated personality that that led me to discuss this ‘inspiration dip’ with other new brides.

It quickly became apparent that this post wedding motivation slump is a common phenomenon among newlyweds and it is also undersresourced in terms of published information about it. So where do I come in? In a few ways:

Coaching:
By applying coaching techniques – I will help you avoid / surpass this feeling through a post wedding motivation strand of Limitless Coaching. If you want to break out of this temporary (and let's admit... extremely annoying!) slump - this is a great solution for you.

Blogging:
I am also blogging about finding and harnessing inspiration after your big day… on my own blog, and on the Wedding TV UK website (as one of their wedding experts)

Writing a book!
I am also currently researching and writing a book on the topic... and am looking for contributors. Follow me on Twitter @bridemotivation and email me on postweddingmotivation@gmail.com to find out more...

...and in the above, you can expect to see exclusive previews, including top tips on how to create the next best day of your life; articles on how to balance the excitement of your new life while still honouring the old you; real life stories of brides affected by the post wedding blues – who are now back to their fabulous best; advice on how to avoid the post wedding slump; turning potentially negative pressure into a positive; coaching tips to keep you enthused and on track with your life and career goals in the run up to and after your wedding and much more.

Keep an eye on royalweddingcountdown, my post wedding motivation blog and my guest blogs on the Wedding TV UK website!

Embrace the impossible

It may be the case that the long hours you work don't allow for much TV time (I can relate), but via my husband, I've become absorbed in a programme on UK TV channel Watch - Dynamo: Magician Impossible.

For those of you based in the UK, you may have also watched in awe while the Bradford-born magician enthralled stars such as Natalie Imbruglia, Trey Songs, Rio Ferdinand, Travis Barker and regular punters... as he disappeared under a solid glass wall, turned plastic butterflies into real ones, stopped his own pulse, inserted a coin into a block of ice (while in his hands), walked on water and more.

So how does he do it?! I must admit... I have NO idea. None. I've always been a sceptic where magic is concerned but this guy genuinely seems to have a gift.

... and while it may not be in as jaw-dropping a way... you do too.

Think about it. You're not [necessarily!] a master of illusion but you've had instances where you've managed to achieve something you may have once considered impossible. You know someone who surpassed every expectation... and created their own kind of magic by defying the odds to be successful. Before you moved onto your current challenge... you may have had doubts about your ability to complete the last one... but you did.

Dynamo is phenomenal. Certainly beyond my understanding...  and while I know there must be some kind of inexplicable 'trick' / way of creating the illusion - it doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the spectacle he creates.

We can embrace the impossible on TV but why not apply that same abandon to our own lives. Be certain. Be positive. Surprise yourself and others. Be dynamic... and remember... you don't need to have all the answers. Who knows... You may create your own magic. Thanks for being today's inspiration Dynamo!

For those of you who haven't seen him yet, see just a sample above...

Life is short - Seize the day

*Please read this blog bearing in mind the intended respect of the author for all mentioned below*

If you, like most of us, often procrastinate... saying that you will achieve your aim on a mythical 'tomorrow'; start your plan next week or maybe consider doing something next year... this weekend has been a quick, short, sharp and tragic reminder of how short life is. 

This weekend, we have been rocked by the death of those in Oslo and of the young people on Utøya island, the China rail crash, escalating emergency situation in Somalia... as well as the surprising (yet sadly, not so surprising) death of Amy Winehouse. These incidents were the result of very different factors... yet undoubtedly have a common message... that life is fleeting. 

So, what does that mean? How will these sad reminders of our mortality affect us? The possibilities are endless:

Not at all

It may be sad... but what has happened to these people has nothing to with you, or how you live your life

Stop for a moment

You'll spend 48-72 hours reeling from this weekend's news... and get straight back to your daily routine. No one's claiming there's anything wrong with your daily routine... but when you think about it, it is amazing how we can often go from being so moved... so affected... yet soon suffer amnesia in respect to why we felt that immediate and powerful reaction

A more lasting impact

Make a decision to truly live each day to the full. Plan, set goals and act on them... start the process today. 


This weekend... I choose to take a few moments to reflect on recent events and, while I didn't have the priviledge of knowing any of these young people - send my condolences to their friends, families and loved ones. 

And tomorrow, I will respect their legacies... and take some actions towards creating my own.... a bid to avoid resonating with the words ''If I had my life to live over again."

Carpe Diem... Seize the day...

Hacked off?... Change your state

In the past week, for those of us in the UK, it would have taken a miracle to escape the furore over the News of the World phone hacking scandal... which took an exceptionally ugly turn when it became clear that not only  celebrities were affected, but much more disturbingly, so were families experiencing tragedy relating to murder cases and acts of terrorism.

The UK public is hacked off... and the management decision to close century and a half old newspaper will only displace / create a slight diversion to the problem... not make it go away.  

From the national news agenda to a much more personal one however... being hacked off - in the annoyed sense of the term - is not something that can be described as unusual. How many of us also recognise that we create a problem distraction... instead of meetng it head on?

As varied as all of our lives, jobs and experiences are - in any given week, there is some common ground:

• The intense dislike of Monday mornings (my mother instilled in me to rarely if ever use the word 'hate' but this may be the most appropriate word in some cases!)
• being annoyed with our boss / the employee / the colleague
• that 'floundering' / slightly lost feeling
• doubt about whether in the right industry / role
• motivation depletion: the desire to have more get-up-and-go
• the internal debate over whether to indulge in that snack
• the want to change a situation we're in (i.e. a moment of wondering whether there's any more than this)
• the reminder (be it through watching news, speaking to a friend etc) that there are people much worse off than we are, and the related sense of guilt about the (sometimes unnecessarily) negative view of our own situation
• the Friday celebration ritual
• living for the weekend
• the feeling that the weekend craved has sped by wayyyy to quickly 

... and it's back to Monday where the cycle continues.

Any of this sound familiar? 80... 90... 100% of it? Thought it might. 

However, blessed by being someone who always focuses on the full half of the glass, my optimistic streak was enhanced when I attended the National Achievers Congress in London on 2-4 July.

With an awesome (albeit all male) line up which included Richard Branson, Lord Alan Sugar and the piece de resistance for me, the world's most renowned peak performance coach Anthony (Tony) Robbins - this 3-day congress has truly had an impact on not just how I see things, but about how I do and will take responsibility for making decisive actions... and in this blog, I'll spend the next few weeks and months sharing some of the lessons I learned - so please stay tuned.

For now though, I'll leave you with a video of the inspirational Tony Robbins, delivering just one of the messages that he explored at NAC2011 - the concept of 'changing your state' to create the focus and energy needed to achieve your goals.

This is not 6 minutes of procrastination... it's 6 minutes of inspiration. Change your focus... you will change your achievements. It's that simple. Check it out...

Celebration time... c'mon!!!

It's not only the horrendous UK weather which makes it hard to believe that June is here already... it's the fact that for many, years seem to be whizzing by faster than ever.

Hard to believe then that the 1st of July... 6 months on from the day when many of us would have made our series of New Years Resolutions... is nearly upon us.

Finding / changing jobs, losing weight, taking up a course, starting a hobby, spending more time with family, expanding our skill set - there are all sorts of things that we vow to do at the beginning of a year - many of which are still on our list on December 31st.

So... I have a suggestion. This season (summer, winter - whatever it may be where you are) 6 months after the start of the New year, i.e. on or by the 1st of July - I'd like you to take 15-30 minutes to do an self-audit. That's right... kind of like an internal MOT... and here's how:

1. Look at your list of aims you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. If you didn't write them down, remember them and do so now.

2. Decide how far you have come along on each of those things. When it comes to your year so far, what are you proud of? What has surprised you? What are you kicking yourself about? What are you going to do about it?

3. Decide if these things are still important to you or if your aims, priorities and circumstances have shifted over the past few months. This can be eye opening. There's no point stressing that you haven't done something... if it's not still as important to you!

4. Edit your list accordingly

5. CELEBRATE! Yup that's right... celebrate. Well done you! Whatever the outcome of your 1st of July mini audit I want you to give yourself a pat on the back and celebrate. Why you ask? Well... because chances are, you have made some positive inroads to achieving these aims. You're determined, no? It's your determination which will ensure that you turn your words into actions.

But wait... there are some of you that haven't achieved these goals? Not researched that course for September? Didn't maintain your commitment to that fortnightly call to your mum? Not lost 5 out of the 10lbs you wanted to? 

Doesn't matter... you celebrate too! Acknowledge all the achievements this year which were not on your list - and essentially... celebrate in recognition of the fact that you are taking the time to audit where you are now so you can start taking that action which hasn't yet happened for some reason or the other. If it's still important to you, it's not too late to start now.

My silence on this blog since March has been because I've done some important celebrating of my own this year (see pic below) and I'm now getting back to my own stride which achieving my non-wedding related goals for 2011. I'm excited about getting going again on all my other priorities which have lapsed in the past few months... and I hope you feel the same about yours!

Celebrating on our big day
Photography by Beena